Project Last Mile Partners Announce Investment and Expansion Plans

The Medical Stores Department (MSD) in
Tanzania delivers medicines to a clinic via boat in the Rafiji
Delta region of Tanzania’s Pwani District. MSD is the government agency
in Tanzania responsible for procuring, storing and delivering medicines
throughout the country. In the rainy season, MSD uses boats to access rural
clinics. Since Project Last Mile launched in 2010,
MSD’s distribution system has expanded to include delivery to more than 5,500
health facilities. Previously, MSD
delivered to approximately 150 district warehouses, thus losing sight of the
last mile. View our full-screen image gallery.

(Photo Credit: )

If you can find a bottle of Coca-Cola anywhere in the world, why not life-saving medicines?

That critical question inspired the 2009 launch of a partnership between Coca-Cola, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Project Last Mile,” which uses Coca-Cola’s supply chain, distribution, logistics and marketing expertise to help African governments get vital medicines and supplies the “last mile” to remote, hard-to-reach communities, launched in 2010 in Tanzania and expanded to Ghana in 2013.

Today, Project Last Mile’s founding partners and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced plans to expand the partnership to eight additional African countries over the next five years, starting with Mozambique. The coalition will invest more than $21 million, plus significant in-kind resources.

“Africa has been a vital part of our business for more than 85 years, and we’re committed to doing our part to help people across Africa live healthier and more active lives,” said Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent. “We’re honored to use Coca-Cola’s expertise to improve the distribution of medicine and medical supplies… it’s wonderful to be able to help more people enjoy better access to life-sustaining and life-enhancing medicines.”

The initiative leverages the complementary expertise and resources of the four partners, along with Yale’s Global Health Leadership Institute, Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP) and the Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF). The partners build capability within government agencies responsible for managing the procurement and distribution of essential medicines and medical supplies on how to forecast demand for medicines and better market their availability, and to properly maintain coolers to store medicines and vaccines at the correct temperature.

“As a result of Last Mile, we have been able to implement professional practices that have improved our planning, distribution and performance management processes. This has improved our capability to consistently deliver critical medical supplies throughout Tanzania,” said Cosmas Mwaifwani, director general of the Medical Stores Department in Tanzania. “Since we began working with our partners in 2010, we have been able to increase the availability of medicines in medical clinics by 20-30 percent in some places where we have implemented the direct distribution model. Additionally, the partners have shared distribution tools with us to enable us to efficiently reach more than 5,500 health facilities."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost half of all people in Africa lack access to essential medicines, due largely tosupply chain inefficiencies, poor infrastructure and limited transportation resources.

“Project Last Mile’s partners and collaborators have combined strengths to develop a solution to the challenge of providing access to critical medicines and medical supplies in remote African communities,” said Mark Dybul, executive director of the Global Fund. “Together, we are providing innovative and more efficient ways to deliver medicines to public healthcare clinics on behalf of the Ministry of Health.”

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.

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